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resourcesoftheJesuitsturnedouttobeparticularlyserious.However,teachingwasre-
sumedafteronlyashortbreakaswasresearchandpublishingactivity.In1677,anew
chairofpoliticswasceremoniouslyopenedafterthreeyearsofendeavors.Its“purpose
andintentionistoimbuePolishyouthwithChristianprinciplesoftheorganizationof
sociallifeandexercisingauthorityaccordingtoGod’swillandcommonsense.The
youthshouldbeabletoadequatelyassespseudopoliticalplatformsbearingthepopu-
larnameofMachiavellianism”claimedLithuanianprovincialAndrzejWołłowiczin
amemorialaddressedtotheOrder’sGeneral,JanPawełOliwa,wherehejustifiedthe
needtoopentheinstitution.11
ThecollectionoftheAcademy(nowVilniusUniversity)containsatext(Prae-
lectionesPoliticaedeMonarchiaseuRegno)whichreferstothecurriculumofpoli-
tics.ItwasmostprobablywrittenbyJanKorman,aprofessorteachingthissubject
1679-1686.Theauthorwasoneof37lecturersofpoliticsteachingoveraspanofsixty
yearsfrom1677to1737,whosenameswereenumeratedbyatirelesshistorianofthe
university.12AnanalysisofKorman’snotesdraftedassupplementarymaterialforhis
lecturesallowsustoaccountfortheauthor’sviewsonthepoliticalrealityofhistimes
andtheneedstoreformthestate.Piechnikemphasizesthattheappealof17th-century
Jesuits,whocalledforaseriousapproachtothemostimportantmattersofstate(in
particulartovestingthehighestomcesinhonorableandcompetentpeople)hasnot
lostrelevance.HealsostressedthefactthattheauthoritiesoftheOrderabstained
fromthedisseminationinprintoftheradicalviewsofsuchscholarsasJanKormanor
JanChądzyński(whodemandedthatpeasants’livingconditionsbeimproved,called
forreformsinthearmyandtheabandonmentofliberumveto)justifyingitnotwith
theircontroversialcontentbutwithJesuitsbeingprohibitedfrombecominginvolved
inpolitics.13
Theseweretheproverbialvoicesofthosecallinginthedesert,however,andthey
werenotheardbythenobilityattherighttime,resultinginthewell-knowncollapseof
thestateattheendofthe18thcentury.Theoldtraditionofstudiesinpoliticalscience
wasrevivedinVilniusafterPolandregainedindependence.Intheinterwarperiod,the
StephenBathoryUniversitywasaccompaniedbythe‘ScientificandResearchInstitute
ofEasternEurope’Association(establishedin1930)anditsHigherSchoolofPoliti-
calScience.14WWIIputanendtotheiractivity15andthenewpost-warrealitybrought
achangeofbordersalongsidedisadvantageousconditionsforfurtherachievementsin
thefieldofpoliticalscience.
11L.Piechnik,PróbyodnowyAkademiiWileńskiejpoklęskachpotopuiokreskryzysu1655-1730.
DziejeAkademiiWileńskiej,vol.III,Rzym1987,p.32.
12Ibidem,p.34andnext.
13Cf.L.Piechnik,WykładyJanaKormananakatedrzepolitykiUniwersytetuWileńskiego(dru-
gapołowaXVIIwieku),“RocznikWydziałuFilozoficznegoTowarzystwaJezusowegowKrakowie,”
1991-1992,pp.267-275.
14TheirachievementsaredocumentedintheBalticoslavica.BiuletynInstytutuNaukowo-Ba-
dawczegoEuropyWschodniejwWilnie,vol.1-3,Wilno1933-1938.Cf.R.Dworek,InstytutEuropy
Wschodniej(1930-1939),“Europa,”no.l,Warszawa1987,pp.6-21.
15Cf.LikwidacjaUniwersytetuStefanaBatoregoprzezwładzelitewskiewgrudniu1939roku.
Dokumentyimateriały,collectedbyP.Łossowski,theauthoroftheintroduction,Warszawa1991.
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